


You Held Your Head Like a Hero

by Snow



Category: Party Animals (TV)
Genre: Chromatic Character, Conversation over dinner, Female Character of Color, Friendship, Gay Male Character, Gen, Indian Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-12-24
Updated: 2010-12-24
Packaged: 2017-10-14 00:56:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,085
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/143588
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Snow/pseuds/Snow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A conversation between Matt and Ashika.</p>
            </blockquote>





	You Held Your Head Like a Hero

**Author's Note:**

  * For [comradeocean](https://archiveofourown.org/users/comradeocean/gifts).



> Betaed by the magnificent stars.

"So, when are you going to join me in Parliament?"

Matt glances up from his menu to look at Ashika, not as startled as he's pretending to be. There's no way he didn't see that question coming. He might not be planning on giving her a serious answer, but she doesn't expect one. She expects one even less when she sees that his eyes sparkling. "Depends. Are you planning on stepping down and letting me run for your seat in your by-election?"

Ashika laughs, and it makes Matt smile to hear it. "I don't think that would count as you joining me then. That's the only flaw in your plan."

"Or I can take James' seat if he's stepping down," Matt offers.

"You're so generous," Ashika says, setting her own menu down with an air of definitiveness. "I'm sure he'll be thrilled to hear that."

Matt shrugs, and goes back to considering his own menu, which also hides his face from Ashika. "Give him that chance to have that quiet family life you know he's always wanted."

Ashika struggles to keep a straight face, even if it's wasted on Matt right now. She's sure it will show in her voice if she cracks. "He used to talk to me about how all he ever wanted out of life was a little privacy. His parents made him go into politics, you understand."

"Oh, of course. He was able to succeed when someone of _their_ background never could have, thirty years earlier. And so they put all their hopes in him. Poor James."

Ashika does crack up at Matt's droll tone before she has a chance to say anything about how coming from an upper middle class background was just so _hard_ , which might be for the best. This sends him into giggles as well, just as the waiter comes by to take their order. Ashika gathers herself before Matt does, and tells the waiter what she wants while he struggles with a sip of water. When the waiter does get to him, though, he looks just as poised as Ashika is.

They both manage not to collapse into giggles again even when the pressure to behave is gone. Ashika feels a little like when she'd first started working for James, with her whole future in front of her and no restrictions. She has a different kind of future she now, but she's made it the distance she started off wanting. Once she had thought becoming an MP would be her greatest triumph, but that was long before she entered politics, when she believed that all she had to get there was to want it. She knows better now, but she also knows that she made it anyway, and that she can go so much further if she tries.

"Are you doing fine, then?" Matt asks.

Ashika smiles broadly at him, and it's not even her 'I'm so confident and self-assured, just let me show you' smile. It is a grateful smile, because she knows that Matt helped her to get here and even though she never thought he'd stop being her friend it's still nice to have the reminder that he still cares, that if she says no she'd have his support, not just his concern for how this will affect her ability to do her job. She doesn't have to say no, though. "Of course I am."

"That's good."

She nods. "It is. And how are you?"

He laughs. "Hungry."

Ashika tilts her head. "That's easily fixable, and just requires waiting for them to bring us our food. You're in politics, I'm sure you can manage that tiny bit of patience without difficulty. Beyond that?"

"A little bored. A little annoyed with the current state of things."

"The current state of things being who you're working with, what you're doing for them or what politics look like?"

Matt shrugs. "First and second, for the most part. And the first is more of the issue."

"Oh. Is there anything I can do to help? I know you don't want to work for me, I _know_ that I can't offer the kind of work now that would keep you interested, but maybe I could find something."

Matt is grinning at her by the time she trails off, which Ashika fails to understand, until he speaks. "I don't need you to fix it. I just want to bitch about work for a while."

"Oh," Ashika says. "You sure?"

"I _do_ know my own mind."

"Of course. By all means, then. Bitch on."

Matt snorts. "I feel weird doing it on command, now."

"Then leave me in suspense. Not like you've made me all curious now."

"It's just...all so petty now," Matt starts, apparently not having been serious at all about not complaining. Not that Ashika had thought he would be. "I mean, I know it's always been petty, that so much of politics is petty, but for some reason I expected things to be better, not worse, when it wasn't Labour in power anymore. But we're still spending so much time blaming them, or blaming each other, or blaming the Liberal Democrats. And before you even think of telling me that it's not really that bad, I know. This is just one piece of the puzzle and some of them are much better, but I can't complain about those and some of them...I don't want to be the person to tell you that James misses you. But I guess I just was. He mentions it to me when we run into each other, like he expects me to pass the message on, and it'll be just that issue. I think he knows it wouldn't be remotely appropriate for him to approach you for it. Not quite sure why he hasn't figured out that the same applies for him approaching you through me."

Ashika shrugs. "I miss him too, every once in a while. But mostly not. I think he always thought we were going to work out, and I never did."

Matt smiles back. "That seems about right."

"Anything more to rant about?" Ashika asks.

"Well," Matt starts. "There's a friend of mine who was elected to parliament and it seems like I hardly see her anymore. I think she might think she's too good for me now."

Ashika starts laughing, holding up a hand to stop him from continuing until she's had a chance to answer. "Maybe I'm just busy. I'm here now, aren't I?"

**Author's Note:**

> I welcome and appreciate comments, including constructive criticism.


End file.
